Although autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, attempts to identify specific susceptibility genes have thus far met with limited success1. Genome-wide association studies using half a million or more markers, particularly those with very large sample sizes achieved through meta-analysis, have shown great success in mapping genes for other complex genetic traits.

It is estimated that half a million Australian families are affected by autism and many of them struggle not just with the needs of an autistic child or adult but with the huge costs associated with the array of therapies required to treat the disorder. For one family, Australia did not have the resources they needed for their autistic son, forcing them to relocate to the United Kingdom.

SCHOOLS are turning children with disabilities into part-time students by restricting their attendance hours in breach of anti-discrimination laws.

Some school principals are limiting the time disabled students are in class to match the hours a teacher's aide or other assistance is available, Macquarie and Sydney university researchers have found.

A New South Wales family have made the gut-wrenching decision to leave the home and friends they love and move to the UK because they say Australia cannot provide the support and services they need for their autistic son.

It is estimated that 500,000 Australian families are affected by autism.

I was very interested in the news item in the latest A4 update about Paige Walker and her son Alex who were taking the Victorian Dept of education to court to use for compensation for her son's part time attendance at school due to little school aide funding and she having to take him to school each day and clocking up so many miles.

There is growing support for a National Disability Insurance Scheme (see http://www.natdis.com.au/). A paper on the full proposal can be downloaded from http://www.natdis.com.au/NDIS.pdf.A4 members are encouraged to consider the proposal as tell us what they think about how such a scheme would affect people with ASD and their families.